On having six players on the team with 40 receptions or more: “It doesn’t allow you to key in on one or two guys. It’s tough for opposing defenses.”

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If Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr has his way, he will be back on the field for this week's game against the Green Bay Packers. He says he was "pretty close" to playing in Sunday's 25-20 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, but he ultimately was kept out of his third consecutive game because of a lingering right hamstring injury....

Matt Dumba was disinterested in speaking to reporters after Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the first time that the Wild have lost back-to-back games in regulation this season. "I don't know," Dumba said. "It's frustrating." That much was palpable throughout the 68-second interview as Dumba opted for a handful of clipped answers before retreating to the showers. “They are...

CHICAGO -- Poised to move into first place in the tightly contested NFC North, the Vikings now find themselves a game and a half behind the Bears following Sunday night’s 25-20 loss to Chicago at Soldier Field. The Bears (7-3) put themselves in the driver’s seat for the division title, while the Vikings now face the immediate task of staying...

NEW YORK — Career saves leader Mariano Rivera and late pitcher Roy Halladay are among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joined by 15 holdovers headed by Edgar Martinez. Left-hander Andy Pettitte and infielders Todd Helton, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada also are among the newcomers on the ballot announced...

When Gophers backup center Matz Stockman split two Texas A&M defenders for a powerful dunk in Minnesota’s 69-64 victory over the Aggies on Sunday night in the Vancouver Showcase, it was something his teammates had seen before. But only a few times. When the 7-foot senior from Oslo, Norway, dunked during a Gophers practice last week, well, that did catch...